Publication Order of Agent Kay Hamilton Books

Biography

Mike Lawson grew up in Pueblo, Colorado with his siblings; he attended college at Seattle University where he acquired his engineering degree. Following the completion of his education, he sought a job with the U.S Navy where he worked as a nuclear engineer.

He would spend the next thirty years in the position, contributing in his own way to the Navy’s Nuclear Power Program. A considerable portion of Mike Lawson’s career stranded him at the naval shipyard in Bremerton, Washington, though he did spend some time in D.C.

In Bremerton, Mike was responsible for managing various organizations, all of which revolved around the purposes of overhauling nuclear powered submarines, cruisers and aircraft carriers. By the time Lawson’ career came to an end, he was a member of the Executive Service in the Government and a top civilian at the shipyard with responsibilities that included work on the naval reactor plant on the West Coast.

Many of Mike Lawson’s friends are not quite certain about how he was able to transition from engineering to writing; Mike Lawson has said, on several occasions, that he loves to write. It is a passion that has haunted him throughout his life, an activity that brings him great joy.

With his career starting to wind down in the U.S Navy, it was only natural that he would try his hand at writing. Mike Lawson has admitted that a lot of the success he has achieved over the years has had more to do with his lucky fortunes than anything. However he has also always been quick to emphasize the role of persistence and some modicum of talent in crafting a profitable writing career.

Mike Lawson’s lucky break came in the form of the agent that appreciated his first novel, “The inside Ring’, and took steps to land Mike a lucrative two book deal. It was while he was working in DC that Mike created the primary protagonist of many of his novels, Joe DeMarco, a lawyer with a multitude of positive and negative attributes.

Mike is married and lives in the Pacific Northwest. When not working, Mike loves to play golf.

The Inside Ring

At the start of the video, the president is seen walking towards a Marine chopper. At his vantage point on a bluff, overlooking Georgia’s untamed Chattooga River, three shots are fired from an assassin’s rifle. The president of the U.S has been wounded; two others a dead: his best friend and a secret service agent.

Two days later, a man in Landover, Maryland kills himself. More importantly, found in the man’s home is a litany of evidence pointing towards his guilt as the assassin responsible for the attempt on the president’s life.

General Andy Banks is the secretary of Homeland Security, and he’s nursing a guilty conscious. Some time before the assassination attempt, the General received a dire warning via a note: Eagle One is in danger. Cancel Chattooga River, ‘The inside Ring’ has been compromised. This is not a joke.

The Inside Ring isn’t a thriller; it should be but it doesn’t quite earn that description. The novel starts off with quite the bang. The president is almost assassinated; his friend and a secret service agent are killed. Everything points towards a breach of security, possibly a player within the inside ring of the protection detail that might have played a role in the event.

The mysteries are plenty; Mike Lawson has his readers questioning who might be at fault and how far the conspiracy goes. The problem lies with the thrills and even the suspense, which the novel promises, hints at but doesn’t quite deliver.

‘The inside Ring’ is filled with interesting characters; and the tours of Washington DC are very vivid; but despite the number of connections that the novel seems to hint at, Mike puts very little effort into answering the questions he created, at least without creating more questions and turning leads into dead leads

The threats are only vague and do not help the lack of suspense; Mike’s determination to begin his chapters with unnecessary descriptions of scenes and characters does not help matters. That doesn’t make Mike Lawson’s first novel a complete bore, though.

In truth it is very easy to read; and the third act injects effort into finally delivering some thrills, allowing the story to find purpose as Mike finally pushes past Joe DeMarco’s background to throw the protagonist into the thick of things.

Many a reader has commended Mike for his characterization of Joe, an individual that isn’t quite as strong or as smart as the typical hero but who somehow manages to come out on top, beating the bad guys and saving the day in a manner that is worth praising.

House Rules

Authorities narrowly avoid the bombing of the Baltimore Harbor Tunnel by terrorist. When a private plane ignores warnings and brazenly approaches the white house, it is shot down. Fear begins to prevail over the nation and panic isn’t far ahead. The gravity of the situation is particularly manifested by the traction a junior senator gets following his proposal of a bill that will not only have Muslims (that are non-citizens) deported but also initiate extensive background investigations into Muslim Americans.

John Mahoney (Speaker of the House) couldn’t be less pleased; he can recognize the knee-jerk response that is generated in people during times of fear and which they will come to regret. John is determined to kill the Bill, not only for the future of the country but for the secret he wishes to keep hidden.

And so he calls Joe DeMarco. DeMarco is far from the average hero, struggling with debt, divorce and the irritating demands of his unreasonable boss. However he has friends, allies that will prove useful in determining the source of the attacks in a story filled with humor, suspense and political intrigue.

House Rules is the exciting thriller ‘The inside Ring’ simply wasn’t; the revelations are well timed and the discovery of the truth behind many of the story’s secrets is a hard won task. Joe is imperfect as a hero, his resourcefulness allowing him to maneuver the dangers surrounding Mahoney’s political realm.

The fact that the novel is so relevant to a post 9/11 world adds to the intrigue.

Jack Reacher is back! Personally I thought this was the 2nd best Reacher book yet. The latest book in the Jack Reacher series, Past Tense, came out November 5th. Family secrets come back to haunt Reacher when he decides to visit the town his father was born in. Why? Because when he visits there he finds out no-one with the last name of Reacher has ever lived there. It leaves him wondering - did his father ever live there? More Details.

Recommendations

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Author / Series

Book(s)

Featured Series

One of my favourite series is the Brilliance Saga by Marcus Sakey and it is our featured series of the month. It's just an incredible light sci-fi series that fans of "Dark Matter" would also enjoy. It's free on Kindle Unlimited too! More Details.

Featured Author

Our author of the month is Canadian author Opal Carew who writes erotic romance novels. Opal has written over 100 novels with multiple book series such as the Dirty Talk series and the Abducted series. If you’re a fan of erotic romance, be sure to check out Opal Carew.

Did You Know…

Andy McNab was born on 28 December 1959. Found abandoned on the steps of Guy's Hospital in Southwark in a Harrods shopping bag, he was brought up in Peckham, with his adoptive family. He did not do well in school, dropped out and worked at various odd jobs, usually for friends and relatives, and was involved in petty criminality, finally being arrested for burglary in 1976.